Duende. Nacho Duato

CND ARCHIVE NACHO DUATO'S REPERTOIRE 90/10

Choreography:Nacho Duato

Music: Claude Debussy : Pastoral, first part from the Sonata for flute, viola and harp (1916). Syrinx, solo for flute (1912/1913). Final, last part from the Sonata for flute, viola and harp (1916). Danse sacrée et danse profane for harp and string orchestra (1904).

Sets: Walter Nobbe

Costumes: Susan Unger

Lighting Design: Nicolás Fischtel

World premiere by the Nederlands Dans Theater at the AT&T Danstheater, The Hague, November 21st, 1991. Premiere by Compañía Nacional de Danza at the Teatro Lírico Nacional La Zarzuela, December 11th, 1992.

Duato's ‘ideas' for choreography are almost always preceded by his choice of music, which characterises his working method. Maybe this applies to Duende in particular, because the music was the only source of inspiration for this ballet. Long ago, Duato fell in love with Debussy, especially with the way the composer makes nature sound in music. When he listens to this music, Duato visualises shapes, not people, relationships or events. This is why he considers Duende as an almost sculptural work: a body, a movement, that goes with the tune.

Duende literally means elf or fairy, like the ones who tidy upchildren's toys at night, but it can also mean rascal, a naughty child. One can also possess ‘duende’, when radiating energy and great charm, almost having a magical attraction. In Andalusia flamenco is saidto have duende, which can hardly be translated into another language. Flamenco has a touch of spell, one might say, like the way black music has 'soul'.

At the beginning of the twentieth century Debussy was an unknown composer, and the public was suddenly listening to absolutely different sounds. Strange, beautiful and magical, as they must have been, these sounds have identified his complex cultural roots. Debussy’s music reveals classical and romantic origins, apart from connections with lay music, folk songs, Arab, eastern and slave cultures, and even with jazz.

Classicism may simply be explained as consecrated to form. In this sense, Romanticism is usually defined as the expression of emotions. However, the relationship between Debussy and these two concepts is not always so simple. Form and emotion are always present in his music, but more as the result of a process of insinuation than one of definition. In one of his rules for composers, Debussy wrote: “Discipline must be looked for in freedom”. This could be considered his first command.

Debussy is frequently identified with the impressionist artistic movement: but whereas painters like Monet gave great importance to light, Debussy was mainly interested in the quality and effect of sound. Comments of Debussy about Stravinsky were that “he was widening the borders of what is allowed in the empire of sound”, and this could undoubtedly be applied to his own work.

Subscribe

Auditions

SEND US AN EMAIL TO

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

and we will inform you about next calls and conditions

Follow our Facebook

Legal Advice

In compliance with current rules and regulations concerning personal data protection, we inform you that the personal data obtained by our forms constitute part of the documentation that falls under the responsibility of INAEM Compañía Nacional de Danza and are treated by that entity with the aim of managing communications between COMPAÑÍA NACIONAL DE DANZA and you.

Confirm Dates

The programmes and dates appearing on this website are for general guidance only and may be subject to changes. Please make sure you confirm any programmed events with their respective venues, especially dates and times.

Accesibility

Work on the CND’s website is underway to facilitate accessibility for all users and so comply with the recommendations of the World Wide Web Consortium - W3C. (Level AA standard), which will improve access and navigation for people with disabilities and anybody else visiting the website.

The ongoing website improvements are based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), version 2.0 of December 2008, published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), a domain of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The guidelines are the commonly recognised basis for establishing website accessibility.